hmmm...
I didn't really become musically "aware" until about 1983-84. I of course heard all the music that my parents and older brother listened to, but the first music that was "mine" would have come about in the summer of 1984.
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Prince - Purple Rain
Duran Duran - Rio
Huey Lewis & the News - Sports
Men at Work - Business as Usual
Footloose soundtrack
Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack
Talking Heads...you get the idea.
If I recall correctly the first album (cassette actually) that I remember owning of my own was Purple Rain. (A birthday gift) and I was NOT happy. I had specifically asked for Michael Jackson's Thriller album. Who wanted Prince? He was a "fag". (oh...the irony!) Turns out I LOVED the album. Every single song. (especially Darling Nikki, cause it was naughty and I was twelve.)
Van Halen/David Lee Roth came along soon thereafter. 1984, Crazy from the Heat, Eat 'Em and Smile...
Damn...the 80's get a bad rap, but there was some great music then.
fyi...prior to discovering music of my own I listened mostly to Jim Croce, Kenny Rogers, Simon & Garfunkel, and love them all still today. I also really enjoyed listening to old Bill Cosby records.
